Lighting devices are commonly used for decorative lighting, particularly for festive occasions. One such application is decorative lighting on a Christmas tree. Further applications are atmospheric lighting for celebrations or in the form of motif lighting for special holidays, semi-transparent decoration housings, for example, being slipped onto the lighting body so that they are illuminated from inside.
Lighting devices independent of an electrical network are known. For example, such lighting devices are described in German Patent No. 200 03 164 U1, German Patent No. 201 00 891 U1, German Patent No. 201 14 003 U1, German Patent No. 20 2004 000 124 U1, German Patent No. 200 20 560 A1, German Patent No. 41 13 442 A1, German Patent No. 198 14 231 A1, German Patent No. 102 06 418 A1 and German Patent No. 103 02 593 A1. Conventional household batteries or storage batteries, which are situated in the lighting body, are typically used as electrical energy storage/current source elements. Because of the weight of these electrical energy storage/current source elements, problems occur with respect to the stability of the lighting devices, particularly when attached to a supporting body, e.g. to a branch of a Christmas tree.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0081420 A1 describes a lighting device having a candle-shaped lighting part and a battery housing that is rigidly joined to the lighting part by a socket part. At the lower end of the lighting device, below the battery housing, an attachment element is provided for attaching the lighting device to a wall. The battery housing is integrated into the lighting base.
German Patent No. 69 16 389 U describes a lighting device having a hook-shaped holding device for hooking onto a limb of a Christmas tree, and having a battery chamber at the lower end of the lighting device. The lighting device is switched on and off by a built-in, mechanical switch.
Also, German Patent Nos. 89 00 563 U and 37 35 217 A describe lighting devices having a separate Christmas-tree glitter ball, on whose surface solar cells are provided for charging storage batteries located within the lighting body.
There is a need for a lighting device that exhibits improved stability when attached to a supporting body.
Also, there is a need for a lighting device set which can be operated simply and with little expenditure.